


When Words Become Superfluous

by LiviJoyann



Series: Superfluous Series [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Hurt Spencer Reid, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped Spencer Reid, Rescue, Reunions, Romance, Team as Family, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 02:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiviJoyann/pseuds/LiviJoyann
Summary: Evelyn is the first ever intern the BAU has accepted and is extremely nervous but when Spencer takes her under his wing, she thinks things may just turn out alright. As time goes on with Reid, she realized things may turn out much more than that. She promised herself to never fall for anyone again, but he may be the exception. As if this isn't enough drama in their lives, a new, unforgiving unsub emerges and takes a special interest in the team. When he manages to kidnap the entire BAU family, will everyone get out alive?





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> "Let go of yesterday. Let today be a new beginning and be the best that you can, and you'll get to where God wants you to be."
> 
> -Joel Osteen

Evie took a deep breath looking at all the papers spread out on her desk in her small apartment. Her name stared up at her from all the information and admittance packets: Evelyn Charlotte Lawrence they all said. SSA Evelyn Lawrence... she tried out in her mind. She smiled; she liked the sound of that. Hopefully someday soon she could own up to that name. Her first day as an intern at the BAU started tomorrow, and she couldn't possibly be more excited and nervous at the same time. She heard these people were good. Real Evelyn was one to freak out and overthink small matters, but she couldn't help herself. Before she had even though of sleeping, she had been staying up learning as much as she possibly could about her next division, the protocols, the guidelines, past cases, and all of the team members whose names she went through one last time" Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia, David Rossi, Spencer Reid, and Derek Morgan. She hoped she was ready.

Evie yawned and stretched back in her chair. Her eyes stung with fatigue although her mind still raced with thoughts of tomorrow. She had to at least try to go to bed though. It was already 1:30 AM and she had to get up at 6:30. Evie stood up and shoved the admittance files into the brown folder with the FBI logo on the front. She padded across the tile floor, through her living room full of sketches and paintings on the tables, walls and chairs, into her bedroom.

Standing in front of the mirror plastered on her wall, Evelyn combed her hand through her deep red-brown hair that reached right past her shoulder and ever so slightly curled at the ends. Her own deep gray eyes stared back at her as she fixed her hair into a loose bun as she always did before bed. Her tight gray tee hugged her waist right above her favorite navy blue plaid pajama pants. Satisfied with her comfort, Evie switched off the light and crawled into bed and tried to fall asleep. The same questions kept running through her mind though. What if the BAU agents didn't like her? What if she screwed up? What if she just didn't belong there?

'Stop it, Evie.' she scolded herself. Why'd she have to overthink everything? She used to be so easy-going and so loose. Ever since her mother died, however, she just had become more high strung. Not to mention more distant, shy, secluding...

Evie sighed and turned to face her window on the far side of her bedroom. She liked being alone though, didn't she? She had her art, her books, her job; what more could she need?

'A friend. Someone who loves me.' she thought, but then quickly dismissed the thought. She didn't need that. She was fine being alone. She was fine.

"Damn..." Spencer muttered under his breath. He wasn't one for swearing unless it was a special occasion. This was definitely a special occasion. The line stretched all the way out the store; how was he supposed to get his coffee now? Dr. Spencer Reid glanced down at his watch again. He only had fifteen minutes to get to work at his normal time. Granted, his normal time was unnecessarily early, but he didn't want to mess with the system. To wait for his favorite coffee, or to settle for the coffee at the office... couldn't he just do both? Spencer put his arm back down at his side and took a couple steps forward in line. Yeah, he could do both he decided.

By the time Spencer got to the front, he had seven minutes and twenty-four seconds to get to work, so he ordered his usual in a hurry. Unpatiently and rapidly tapping his foot, Spencer let his mind wander to whatever came to mind first, this time being going through Shakespeare's Othello word for word for fun. He never missed a scene, or a phrase, or even a word for that matter. The same went for nearly all of Shakespeare's work as well as many other of his favorite authors and writers. An eidetic memory was always very helpful.

"Sir, your coffee." a girl said from behind the counter, holding out Spencer's coffee to him. He gave her the money for his drink and a small smile before glancing down at his watch. Only five minutes and 53 seconds left to be on his regular time. Reid spun around and began to hurry out the cafe, but he wasn't expecting another girl to be directly behind him with her own coffee in one hand and papers that she was trying to get in order with the other. Spencer bumped into her arm accidentally, and she lost grip of her coffee cup. Thank god Reid had fast reflexes. He had the FBI to thank for that.

Spencer shot a hand forward and grabbed her cup before it could fall and gave her an apologetic look. That's when he realized how completely gorgeous she was... her brown hair with the faintest tint of red, her flawless skin, her petite figure, and what Spencer loved most of all were her eyes. Her eyes were the most piercing of grays that he has never seen before. Reid noticed that he was staring and cleared his throat.

"I- Um, sorry. Didn't know you were there." Spencer apologized as he handed her back her coffee. She gave him a shy and sweet smile that made Reid want to smile back.

"It's okay. I probably shouldn't be standing here," she said, taking the coffee. "Thanks, by the way. Great reflexes."

Spencer would've said something else, but dear god her eyes... What was he doing? This was just some random girl that he ran into at the cafe... literally. Why was he so nervous?

"I have to go, I'm running a... um... bit behind. Sorry, again."

With that, Spencer gave her a small nod and smile and rushed out of the cafe. Part of him wanted to kick himself for acting in such a way with some girl who he didn't know and would never feel the same about him. Another part of him kicked himself for not getting her number. Reid decided it was just best if he shook it off. He'd never see her again, so why did it matter? The thought made Spencer strangely disappointed. He had to get to work though. Spencer took a sip of his coffee once he reached his car and then climbed in, forgetting the beautiful shy girl in the coffee shop.

"Hey, leave some sugar for the rest of us!" Morgan smirked as he nudged Spencer playfully.

"I'll give you some sugar." Garcia's voice cheekily said from behind them as she passed through the kitchenette, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Mmmm, I like the sound of that." Morgan played along, smirking as he watched their Technical Analyst leave. Spencer gave a small smile as he stopped the excessive flow of sugar into his cup and set the container back down at the counter. He loved mornings at the BAU before they were burdened with awful gruesome cases of mutilated bodies and sick serial killers. Before they engaged in that, his team was loose and fun. Spencer loved that about them.

"You know, the reason sugar is so addictive is that it releases an opiate-like substance that activates the brain's reward system," Reid said in rushed words. Morgan grimaced as he poured himself some coffee.

"It is way to early for your weird facts, genius." Morgan joked in his deep voice. Reid sipped his coffee and then eyed it suspiciously. Making sure Derek wasn't looking, Reid added one more swig of sugar.

"I saw that..." Derek chuckled without looking up from his own cup. Reid smiled mischievously and excited looked down at his coffee. Yes, he had already had a coffee from the cafe, but there wasn't much harm in another. Well, he knew the harm, he just didn't care. No wonder he was an insomniac.

"I need more energy!" Spencer defending, returning back to the conversation.

"You're the last person who needs more energy, Reid. You talk at like, a thousand miles per second."

"Actually, you can't measure the speed of speech in miles. You'd rather say-"

"Reid!"

"Right, sorry. I'm done now." Reid smirked as he took another sip of coffee as Morgan did the same. He enjoyed his morning conversations with Derek. The two were the most unlikely of friends, being polar opposites. They were basically brothers though, and Morgan had taken Reid under his wing after he warmed up to him when Spencer first joined the BAU. Not to say that everyone kind of took Spencer in as a baby brother. He was the baby of the team as they often reminded him. Most of the time he didn't mind. He knew that they understood Spencer was capable of taking care of himself, but for some reason, they liked to baby him. It wasn't all that bad for a majority of the time. It came with its perks.

"Hotch wants everyone in the round table room." JJ's voice came from the doorway. Reid and Morgan turned to look at her, but she was already turning and leaving, her blonde hair cascading down her back. Spencer sighed and looked down at his coffee. How he'd love one quiet morning in the BAU to just do something relaxing... like paperwork, even if the others didn't like the idea of paperwork all too much.

"You think it's another case?" Morgan asked, looking over at Reid. Spencer frowned up at Derek.

"Your guess is as good as mine. We just got back from one late last night, though."

Morgan took another swig of coffee and then started out the door, Spencer following behind.

"This job never sleeps." was Morgan's answer. They made their way past the bullpen where people were mindlessly working in their desk cubicles, not minding them as they passed. The two agents walked into the room to something they weren't expecting, especially Spencer. He felt like he was hit with a wall and he couldn't help his eyes as they widened beyond normal. The very same girl from the cafe was standing on the far side of the room, nervously tapping her foot and biting her lip. She seemed distracted by her thoughts, so she didn't see Spencer thankfully. He quickly sat down and tried to hide his face with his folders.

"Why do you look so nervous?" Morgan asked, making Reid jump. He smirked at Spencer's discomfort. Reid just shook his head quickly to tell him to shut up. He decided it safe to spare another glance at the girl. She was just as he remembered her. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and her eyes didn't lose a bit of their effect that they had had on him earlier. One would expect gray eyes to be cold and uninviting, but hers were everything but. They were soft but determined, unsure but strong. Spencer could see a lot of history behind them, history that he craved to uncover. He couldn't help but stare as more of his team members walked in and seated themselves, gratefully not bothering Spence.

Why was she here? He'd never seen her around the BAU before, so why now?

Reid watched as Hotch walked in and approached the woman with a firm handshake. She instantly tried to cover up her nerves as she smiled confidently. Spencer was impressed with how quickly she could cover up her demeanor. They were in a room full of profilers, however. The others might not have cared to notice, but Spencer did. He cared. But why did he? He didn't understand why she felt so different to him. Spencer tried to stop staring but he just couldn't. He wished he could somehow make her feel less nervous.

"Everyone," Aaron spoke up, quieting any side conversations. The team instantly quieted down and turned to Hotch eagerly. It seemed they were all wondering the same thing as Spencer was.

It was then when the mystery girl looked up making eye contact with Spencer who was still observing her. Her eyes went wide with surprise for a moment before Reid hurriedly looked away.

'Stupid' he thought to himself. Why didn't he just wave or at least smile? Something about her made him different. Usually, he'd be confident at work with girls, just considering them co-workers and nothing more. But this was so different, he was sure of it.

"This is Evelyn Lawson. She's going to be JJs intern and a temporary member to this team. Please make her feel welcome. I know how some of you can come off as at first." Hotch added, specifically looking to Rossi who threw his hands up in defense.

Spencer felt excitement rush through his body but instantly pushed it back down. He couldn't do this... it was naive to even think of her that way when he barely new her at all. Besides, why would she ever like him back?

"Miss Lawson, this is SSA David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau, and Dr. Spencer Reid." Hotch introduced the team sitting around the table, each one nodding or smiling as they were introduced. Spencer couldn't help but notice that she kept glancing at him... or was he just imagining it?

"Nice to see you again, Dr. Reid." Evelyn said as Spencer was introduced. He nodded and gave her a small smile.

"Just Reid... or Spencer. If you'd like, that is." he said all too quickly. Morgan chuckled besides him and Spencer kicked his shin under the table. Derek grunted an "ow" but continued to smile in mockery. Yes, Derek was like a brother. That didn't just come with perks, however.

"You two know each other?" Hotch asked, looking from Spencer to Evelyn with a look of confusion.

"Um... Yeah, he saved my coffee earlier this morning," she said while smiling at him with the same shy and unsure smile he loved.

'No. get yourself together, Spence' he scolded himself.

"Well, yeah. After I nearly killed it." he added. He hadn't meant this to be funny, but she seemed to think it was as she suppressed a laugh. Hotch raised his eyebrows at the way they were smiling at each other across the room, making Spencer snap out of it. He watched Hotch smirk in the corner of his eye. Why were him and Morgan seeming to have a secret understanding of what Spencer was thinking? There wasn't anything going on between him and the new girl.

"Alright. Well then we'll put Miss Lawson's desk across from yours, Reid. you think you can help her move in?" Hotch proposed. Spencer knew that look. He was trying not to smile and keep his normal serious expression. Reid wasn't fooled. He knew exactly why he put Evelyn next to his desk. Reid played along and shyly nodded. He acted intrigued in his folders so that they wouldn't see how uncomfortable he was.

"How long will Miss Lawson be with us?" Rossi spoke up from the head of the table. Everyone turned to Hotch expectantly.

"Miss Lawson?" Aaron cued her to explain. She stepped forward hesitantly but looked strong at the same time. Sure it was apparent that she was nervous, but she kept confident as well and created a sense that made you want to hear what she had to say.

"Well if you'd like, you can call me Evie." she started. Evie... Spencer liked it. "I'll be here for about nine months or until I'm assigned elsewhere. I'm helping with only the communication aspect for now, but hope to move onto learning a bit about profiling." she finished.

"This will be great. I could use an extra hand these days." JJ spoke up as she smiled sweetly at her. That's one of the main reason Spencer loved Jayge so much. No matter the person or the situation, JJ was welcoming and friendly. She was like the team's rock in a way and always kept them on their feet. Spencer watched some of the tension fall away from Evie. Another example of what JJ could do.

"Alright. Well that's all. I'm sure we'll get a new case soon." Hotch concluded. Everyone stood and exited the room either giving a smile or a handshake to the new intern on the way out. Of course Spencer was last and was left alone in the room with her. He realized the situation he was in and tried to remember to keep calm and casual. He couldn't let anyone know how nervous she made him, in a good way.

"I'll show you to your desk." Spencer said, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder and collecting his papers without looking up. When he turned to walk out the door, he nearly ran into Evie who was standing closer than he thought.

"Sorry, sorry! I keep doing that!" she apologized frantically. He laughed which made her look at him with a lost look.

"What?" she asked tentatively, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

"Don't be so nervous. You'll fit in fine here. They may seem intimidating at first, but they're all great people." Spencer reassured her as they glanced at the team out of the window in the room. She nodded and then turned back to Spencer.

"How'd you know that I was so nervous? I thought I was covering it up..."

"Oh you did, but we all study human behavior. you can't really hide much around here." Spencer explained before he gestured to the door and together they walked out.

She only had a few boxes to unpack, but Spencer helped her anyway, and then went back to his desk not even five feet away.

"So..." Evie said while looking down at the papers on her desk. Spencer turned to her and raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.

"Dr. Spencer Reid..." she said, emphasizing doctor. "That must mean you're pretty smart, huh?"

Spencer shrugged.

"2 BAs, 3 PhDs, eidetic memory, I can read 20,000 words a minute and have an IQ of-"

"187." every one of the other BAU agents interrupted in unison from their desks as if it was out of habit. Spencer shot them a dirty look, then turned back to Evie who smiled.

"Wow. Pretty impressive. 20,000 words a minute." she recited more to herself. "You must read a lot."

"Don't even get him started." JJ appeared next to Spencer's desk. she handed Evie a stack of papers and gave her an apologetic look. "Hotch wants you to go through these to debrief you on how we kind of work things around here." JJ explained as Evie looked through the papers.

"Oh, um... I think I went through them all last night." Evie said while flipping through the last of them and skimming over the information. Jennifer looked surprised and impressed as Evie nodded and shuffled the papers in line. "Yep, done." she said proudly. Spencer couldn't help but smile. He liked when she let her nerves go. She seemed happier that way.

Evelyn handed the papers back to JJ.

"Wow, you're great Evie. I'm glad you're helping me." JJ said, taking the papers back.

"Oh, and by the way, everyone around here calls me JJ." she told Evelyn. Evie nodded and whispered JJ's name under her breath like she was trying it out. Spencer watched her do so, thinking it was completely adorable.

"Or Jayge." Spencer added, looking up at JJ smiling. She smiled back and tousled his hair before walking away, making him grin wider and roll his eyes playfully. Spencer ran his hand through his hair to straighten it out when he noticed Evie intently watching him do so out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over at her making her quickly look down. Spencer smiled at this and got back to his work. He felt like this was going to be the beginning of something great.


	2. To Find Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie and Spence get to know each other better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality."  
> \- Iris Murdoch

"Oh my goodness, is this her!?" A voice projected across the office. Evie looked up from her book that she was reading at her desk to see a very enthusiastic and brightly colored woman running through the office towards her. The woman's hair was curly and blond and bounced as she ran while trying not to fall in her bright pink heels. Evie would usually be a bit startled by someone so vibrant running towards her, but there was something about this woman that screamed friendliness and innocence and Evelyn couldn't help but smile.

"Hi, I'm Penelope Garcia and I'm the Technical Analyst for the BAU. You can just call me Garcia." she said as if it was one rushed long sentence. Evie didn't know how she could possibly be such a bubbly person doing what she did. It must have taken a lot, and Evie appreciated that.

"I'm Evelyn Lawrence, or Evie if you'd like. nice to meet you." Evie reached her hand out to Garcia so that they could shake hands. Penelope seemed ecstatic about her greeting, making Evie feel good. Spencer seemed to be right. She shouldn't be so nervous all of the time. Then why did he always act nervous around her? Maybe she was just imagining it.

"I hear you'll be working with JJ. You'll love her, Jayge is great." Garcia said, her bright pink lip sticked lips still smiling from ear to ear making Evie smile as well. She already decided that she liked this girl, her happiness was contagious.

"Yes, it seems like everyone here is very nice and it's only my second day." Evie said, looking from Rossi, to JJ, to Morgan, and lastly to Spencer who was grinning to himself as he pretended to look down at his papers, obviously listening in.

"I promise once you get to know everyone, you'll realize they're a lot less scary than they seem, even Hotch." Garcia assured her. Evie nodded and looked over at where Spencer sat with his coffee. He really liked coffee. Evie could easily tell that, and she has only known him for two days.

"Reid has been showing me how everything works around here." she said, making Spencer look up at the mention of his name.

"That's good. Spence is a sweetheart, aren't you Spencer?"

Spencer blushed and shrugged as he took a sip of his coffee. Evie felt a pang of... something go through her. It was something she hadn't felt in years. It was a pang of longing along with excitement and nervousness as she watched Spencer blush. She had always closed herself off from those feelings for the longest time. Why did she feel like it around Spencer then? Well, he was adorable when he blushed...

Morgan noticed the three of them grouped around Evie and Spencer's desks, so he walked over to playfully push Spencer's head sideways.

"Yeah, he's the baby of this family."

"Am not!" Spencer frowned at Morgan. "I'm 31 now! Evie can be the new baby."

"Well I am 29, but I don't think I'm ready for that title yet." she said jokingly.

"Yeah, stop trying baby boy. You're stuck with us." Morgan laughed as Reid groaned, but grinned at the same time. Evie watched him mess around with Morgan. They seemed pretty close. All of them did. She decided she really was going to like it here. She just had to do something about these feelings she was getting around Dr. Reid. It was probably just a phase... wasn't it? Oh, but look at his puppy dog brown eyes, his tousled hair, his shy smile that made her stomach flip...

"Guys." JJ's voice interrupted them. they all looked up where she stood at the top of the half staircase. Everyone stopped messing around and laughing to look up at her serious face. "We've got a case."

The team gathered in the room where Evelyn had first met everyone. She was extremely nervous. this was her first case and she wanted it to go perfectly and to be able to do everything right.

"Just watch this time so you get a feel for everything." JJ told her, relieving Lawrence of her worry. She sat down, not even noticing at first that she did so right next to Spencer. She looked at JJ and waiting for her to begin, but secretly she watched Reid out of the corner of her eye to find something that made butterflies rise up in her stomach: he was watching her. She knew that look too. It was the same look she had caught herself doing yesterday.

"We have a slaughtered family of five. Two parents and three children from Sumter, South Carolina. The parents were both 46 and their oldest son, 17. His two sisters were 14 and 11." As JJ talked, pictures of severed bodies in a normal looking house were displayed on the screen behind her. Evelyn had seen dead bodies before. She used to work for another department of the FBI right out of college, but it hadn't been too directly involved with the actual crime scenes and the scenes weren't nearly as gruesome as this. Evie cringed but continued to look at the screen.

"The adults have similar injuries with stab wounds in the abdomen and chest with their throats slit. The investigation further told us that the causes of death were the throat wounds and the stabbing came after they were already dead." she said, looking at her team seated around the table with a look of remorse for the family. She made eye contact with Evie and mouthed the words 'Are you okay?'

Evie must've been showing how horrifying the pictures were more than she thought. She took a deep breath and remembered why she was here in the first place: to bring justice to these people. Well to learn to, anyway. Her internship will hopefully lead into a pretty good spot up higher in the FBI ranks so she could more directly help the victimized families and citizens.

Answering JJ's question, Evie composed herself again and nodded. Jennifer gave her a small sympathetic smile as the team conversed about the case in quiet murmurs around her. That is, except for Spencer. She felt his eyes on the back of her head and felt her heart rate pick up. Alright, she definitely thought he was cute... that didn't mean anything more. But should she turn and talk to him? Should she smile? Would that come off as too much?

'Focus on the case' she told herself.

Everyone's attention turned to Spencer when he spoke up.

"Well the frantic stabbing after the death definitely shows that the unsub did it out of rage, and a lot of it. The way he left the bodies show no sign of remorse and that he was trying to get away as fast as possible." he concluded in his rushed words that Evie had grown to love to listen to, and it was only the second day she had known him! The team nodded as if these observations were obvious, but Evie was impressed. How'd he know all of that just from the bodies? This unit was much more interesting than she thought it would be.

"The childrens' wounds are different. they were stabbed in the chest twice, the second time being the cause of death. They were all carefully placed in their beds with their eyes closed and tucked in." JJ finished, flinching as she described the childrens' deaths. Evie knew her to be a mother herself, and she didn't blame Jayge for being disgusted. What this killer did was sick. Why tuck them in after he brutally murdered them?

"Sick Bastard." came Morgan's voice from across the table, echoing Evelyn's thoughts.

"He definitely showed remorse for the children and killed them quickly without the aggressive after-stabbings." Reid observed while concentrating on the photos. Evelyn glanced at Spencer and made eye contact. All the playfulness of before with Spencer had gone and he looked engaged and completely focused on the case. The softness of his eyes was still there though, and he gave Evie a small sad smile before turning back to JJ who clicked to another slide.

"Another family in the same city with the same situation. Two parents; male, 45 and female, 44. They have an older son who's 15 and two younger daughters of 12 and 10. No signs of forced entry or sexual assault in either case."

"So we already have a distinct victimology." Rossi said, also submerged in the heat of the case. Everyone seemed to let all playing around go to get into work mode. Evie appreciated that. There was always a time to be serious and a time to lighten up. this definitely wasn't a light time.

Hotch nodded in response, frowning at the screen though, Evie noticed that a frown seemed to be his permanent facial structure.

"Families of 5. Parents in their 40s with an older boy and two younger girls. They all have brown hair too. It must have a big significance to the unsub. Maybe his own family."

Unsub... it was the second time Evie heard them use that word. She had read it in past cases that she went through back at her apartment but they never explained exactly what it stood for. Obviously, she could conclude it was the "bad guy", but where did they get unsub?

"Unknown subject." Spencer whispered in her ear making her jump as his breath tickled her neck. She whipped around to see him trying to hide a laugh as he whispered an apology. She frowned at him, wondering how he was able to tell what she was thinking just by being able to see the back of her head. Spencer caught her look and shrugged. "Everyone asks, so i assumed."

Evie mouthed back a thanks and then turned to Morgan who spoke up.

"Could the unsub be playing out a specific fantasy?" Morgan asked as he leaned back in his chair. Over the past two days, Evie could already tell that Morgan was definitely the more playful and wild of the group. Not to mention he was a ladies man, but sweet at the same time. He loved to have a good time, but as she watched him when things got serious, he really got down to business, his incredibly dark eyes seeming even more intense and intimidating.

"Iris Murcoch said We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion."

"The great task in life is to find reality." Evie subconsciously interrupted and finished Spencer's phrase while she still stared thoughtfully at the screen, distracted from the fact that she had just spoken her thoughts out loud. It took her a while to realize everyone was looking at her in surprise, Spencer looking more appreciative and impressed.

"What, Spencer isn't the only one who can memorize things." Rossi spoke up, saving her as blush crept up on her checks. She gave him a grateful look and he smiled warmly and nodded back subtly. Reid and Garcia were right. One really did warm up to this team.

"Well I don't know about the fantasy, but we're going to find out. Wheel's up in fifteen." Hotch said before nodding to everyone and walking out. The rest of the team started getting up as well.

"I didn't know you liked literature so much." Spencer said as he stood up and started pushing his chair back in. Evie smiled. He had no idea.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Well you were reading Edgar Allen Poe so you must have an appreciation of the classics. I like that. You don't find many people like that anymore." Spencer said casually but with a hint of something else in his voice that sent Evie's stomach into excited flips and turns.

"Yeah, you could say I'm sort of a book junkie." she explained, surprising herself. She hadn't been so open with anyone before. Why now? What was so different about Spencer? Well for one, he was so charmingly awkwardly adorable. He was sensitive and sweet and hesitant and unsure and subtle... down to Earth.

"Hey, something we have in common then. you should try the bookstore on the corner of the street sometime." he suggested, glancing over at her as he fastened his satchel that he carried everywhere. He gestured towards the door and they started out of the room together.

"Or we could go together," Evie said as casually as she could. She just meant as co-workers... or did she? She found herself wishing it to be more. Ever since she had met Spencer... well she hadn't felt that way about anyone for a few years when she had been in her last relationship and that hadn't turned out very well. She wasn't sure if she wanted to get into another one. It had definitely been a long time, but ever since her last boyfriend, she'd sworn that she never wanted another one again. Spencer was so different though. He was so sweet and shy... could she deal with another relationship? That is if he even liked her?

"I'd- I'd like that. A lot." Spencer stuttered nervously.

Yes, yes she could.

"So... Spencer..." JJ's voice came from behind Spencer's chair on the plane. She had a mischevious hint in her voice that Reid didn't like.

"What?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to know. She sat down in the empty seat next to him and leaned in close like she was going to tell him an extremely important secret like an excited school girl.

"Don't 'what' me, Spence. It doesn't take a profiler to know that you're completely head over heels." Spencer looked down at his feet with a genuinely lost look and then back up at JJ.

"But I'm not wearing heels last time I checked." he said in all seriousness. He didn't know why JJ found this to be so humorous.

"You. Like. Evie." she nearly spelled out for him. Spencer's eyes went wide as he shook his head frantically.

"Jayge, I- I don't know what you're talking about. We just met... just co-workers." Spencer said, although it hurt to do so since he knew it was unfortunately true. He never said anything about wanting to go further though, and he'd prefer to keep it that way. Spencer would probably embarrass himself liking a pretty girl who probably wouldn't like him back.

"Ok fine, you don't have to admit it out loud to me." JJ said. "But Garcia and I are already planning the wedding. See, the flowers will be from-"

"JJ, for God's sake, I don't even know the girl's favorite color yet and you're making wedding plans?" he playfully rolled his eyes but smiled so she knew he was joking around. She smiled but it soon faded, worrying Spencer.

"Spence... you've gone through so much in the last few years." she said while fading out at the end and staring at the back of the seat in front of her.

"And... so what?" Spencer asked gently while craning his head to look JJ in the eye. She noticed his efforts and turned to face him again. Her eyes seemed to look straight through him, kind of freaking him out.

"And you deserve something good to happen to you for once. I'd hate to see you let it slip away." JJ told him, pausing every so often to find the right words. Spencer smiled at her and reached out to take JJ's hand in his own. She smiled back and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.

"That's sweet, Jayge. I'll... put effort into it." he carefully said, making sure not to get her too excited. "I promise. Just hold off on the wedding stuff for now." Spencer begged her with a pleading look in his eye. He loved her and Garcia dearly, but man could they embarrass him! He supposed that was what families did, though. The last thing he wanted however, was Evie finding out that a wedding was already put into effect with someone she had just met the other day. JJ sighed dramatically at his request.

"Fine. We have a deal if you get your genius butt over there to talk to her." JJ proposed with a devious smile. Spencer felt reluctance and nerves build up inside of him.

"Why not later? Later is good!" he rushed his words in a whisper. JJ raised her eyebrows at Spence then frowned at his hair. She reached up to fix it for him so it wasn't so unruly, running her fingers through the tangles making Spencer squirm.

"There. Better." Now get over there." JJ said, gesturing towards Evie and obviously disregarding Spencer's last comment. Reid glanced over at the new intern who was sitting alone and staring out the plane window. He stood up and was about to make his way over to her when he was suddenly overcome with nervousness. What was he supposed to say? He didn't even think she liked him, why was he doing this?

Spencer ignored JJ's disappointed face as he sunk back down into the seat next to her again.

"Spence!"

"JJ, I can't. What am I even supposed to say?"

JJ groaned in frustration. "Wel,l what do you know about her?" JJ asked. Spencer shrugged.

"She likes old literature and books..."

JJ made a longing face at him like she was watching the most adorable thing ever.

"What?"

"Oh Spence, she's perfect."

"Jayge! What should I say?" he asked anxiously, stealing another glance at Evie again.

"Right, sorry. Ask her about her favorite books and authors." JJ said. Spencer thought about this. It was definitely something he knew about and could go on for hours about. Thank God it was in his comfort zone. "And don't do that Spencer thing." she warned him. Reid frowned at her.

"What 'Spencer' thing!?" he demanded defensively.

"Where you go on and on about every little thing you know about something. keep it casual and listen to what she has to say." JJ finished. Spencer opened his mouth to object and say that he didn't do that, but instantly closed it again when he thought about it. He guessed he might do that a bit...

"Right, okay. Listen, got it." he recited out loud to himself. He slowly stood up again and nervously watched Evie. She was stillf acing the other way with her hair spilling down a few inches past her shoulders and curling at the ends against her upper back. She was fidgeting with her hands that lied on her lap where she was wearing tighter black dress pants.

Come on, Spence. he thought to himself. Before he walked over to Evie, he remembered one last thing. Spencer turned and sat down quickly to throw his arms around JJ. She stiffened in surprise at first, but then relaxed and rubbed his back.

"Thanks, Jayge." he whispered before unraveling himself from her and standing to make his way towards Evelyn. He tried to ignore Morgan's smirk from across the isle. He hesitantly approached the seat next to the new intern and eased hismelf into it quietly. She kept her eyes out the window and Spencer nervously looked down at the floor, then back up to her. This was it. Don't screw up, Spencer.

Reid cleared his throat, causing her to turn in surprise.

"Oh! Sorry, Spencer. I- I didn't realize you were there." she stammered. She's nervous too. Spencer realized. Knowing this gave him just a bit more confidence since he knew it wasn't just him.

"I've been, um... meaning to ask you about your favorite authors." Spencer said quickly, luckily sounding a little more strong than he felt. Evie smiled and bit her bottom lip as she thought about it. Spencer watched her face as she thought and realized he'd never seen someone with such a cute thinking face...

"I mean... I really like Shakespeare." she said looking to Spencer and then down at her hands in her lap. "It sounds cliche, I know."

"No, not at all. What's your favorite work from him?" he asked, expecting to hear the usual answer of Romeo and Juliet. Then he remembered who he was talking to. Evie was everything but mainstream. He loved that about her.

"Oh, definitely Othello." she said confidently, making Spencer's eyes go wide as well his smile. Now he was getting excited.

"Me too! Everyone tends to pick Romeo and Juliet, but Othello is extremely underappreciated compared to it. In my opinion anyway.

"I know exactly what you mean!" Evie said, just as excited. and looking up at Spencer with her gorgeous gray eyes. It was the first time she really wasn't too nervous to look into Spencer's eyes for more than two seconds. Spencer realized he liked her even more than he thought. Reid also realized that she was every bit the definition of perfect in his book. And she loved books with a passion. Oh dear... he thought. Spencer Reid was quickly falling for the new intern.

They froze for a moment and just looked into each other's eyes. Spencer had never wanted to be so forward with someone he had just met in his life. The last time he felt like this was with Maeve...

"It's like a nerd party over here." Morgan muttered, tearing her gaze from each other so that Spencer could shoot him a glare as Derek smirked in his headphones. Once Spencer turned back to Evie, she was softly laughing.

"Um... sorry. I get a little too excited about books and plays and stuff." she apologized, giving him a guilty smile that made his stomach do flips.

"No, no. you can never get too excited about that. I could talk about it all day." he said, giving her a reassuring smile back. Evie smiled even wider and nodded.

"How about a whole plane ride?"

"Deal." Spencer agreed. "So tell me about your favorite scene." he said, turning to her just as JJ had earlier; like excited children excitedly telling stories and sharing secrets.

"Mmm... It'd have to be the last scene with Othello and Desdemona and the final death." she told him with a humble look.

"Ah, yes. It is the cause. Yet I'll not shed her blood; Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, And smooth as monumental she must die, else she'll betray more men. Put out the light, and then put out the light: If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, I can again thy former light restore, Should I repent me: but once put out thy light, Thou cunning'st pattern of excelling nature, I know not where is that Promethean heat That can thy light relume. When I have pluck'd the rose, I cannot give it vital growth must needs wither: I'll smell it on the tree."

Spencer finished reciting the monologue and the looked at Evie who stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. He realized he had probably just done exactly what JJ warned him not to do. He blushed and glanced down at the floor shyly.

"Sorry. I tend to talk on and on whether people want to listen or not."

Spencer hadn't thought this was funny, but Evelyn laughed a laugh that Spencer thought may have been the most angelic and contagious laugh he'd ever heard.

"No, don't apologize. That was gorgeous. How'd you memorize all of that?"

"Well, I have the whole thing memorized. Having an eidetic memory means you can memorize the words you read word for word." Spencer explained. Evie raised her eyebrows and nodded. No one had actually seemed so interested in it before... or interested at all.

"So that's why you sound like a walking text book." she smiled at him. He laughed and shrugged.

"I suppose."

It was then when he realized the way she was looking at him. Her head was tilted to one side and her eyes wondered over his face, taking in all of his features. She had a subtle smile on her face and curious eyes as if Spencer was the greatest thing in the world. He felt his face slowly turn red as she looked at him in such a way, he never thought possible from someone as beautiful and perfect as her.

"Recite another scene for me." she said in a low voice, almost a whisper so that Spencer had to lean in. His heart beat faster at her words and the way she said them. Calm down, Spencer. Don't get ahead of yourself. "Please." she added. Spencer smiled.

"Name a scene, any scene."


End file.
